NFL draft: Trade for Marshall … or draft a wide receiver?

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Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant — shown here stiff-arming Missouri’s Castine Bridges in a 2008 game — is the kind of physical receiver the Seahawks are seeking. Despite being suspended for most of the 2009 season, he’s regarded as the top receiver in the upcoming draft. (G. Newman Lowrance/Getty Images)

NFL draft expert Rob Rang has graciously agreed to discuss a different topic each week on our Seahawks Blog from now until the April 22-24 draft. Rang is a senior analyst for NFLdraftscout.com, an excellent source for insight on all draft topics. Here’s this week’s discussion:

The Seahawks spent a lot to acquire T.J. Houshmandzadeh a year ago, but need someone to work in tandem with him. It’s uncertain whether the Seahawks will want to keep Deion Branch at his significant salary and the only other receivers returning are young Deon Butler and Ben Obomanu.

Seattle has expressed interest in restricted free agent Brandon Marshall, but will have to either surrender its No. 6 pick in the first round as compensation or work a trade with Denver for the highly productive, but often-troubled receiver.

Given all that, I asked draft analyst Rob Rang his thoughts on the Seahawks’ options at wide receivers coming out of college as well as how he thought Marshall’s value weighed against this year’s draft picks.

The top receiver in the draft is Oklahoma State’s Dez Bryant, who caught 87 passes for 1,480 yards and 19 TDs in 2008. But he comes with baggage and question marks of his own and was suspended for most of the 2009 season after lying to NCAA investigators about his relationship with Deion Sanders.

“The loss of Burleson is a significant one for Seattle because he was the one receiver they had with proven big-play ability. Brandon Marshall is a proven commodity that I believe Seattle will consider over adding a rookie.”

What if the Marshall trade doesn’t happen?

“Should the team not ultimately make the trade for Marshall, Bryant is a similarly gifted big-play artist with good size (6-2, 225 pounds). Like Marshall, he lacks elite straight-line speed, but has sticky hands, explosive leaping ability and rare physicality for the position.

“Also like Marshall, however, Bryant has a troubling history off the field that will require careful investigation by any team considering giving him millions of dollars. His suspension by the NCAA for lying about meeting with Deion Sanders is a concern, though teams appear willing to look past it. Other concerns, however, are reports of an inconsistent work ethic and general unreliability.”

Golden Tate’s stock seems to be all over the board on various mocks. Where do you fall on the Notre Dame receiver and could you see him being the kind of athlete who might intrigue – and still be available – for the Seahawks if they trade down in the first round?

Golden Tate

“I believe Tate is the surest of this year’s receiver class. His combination of 4.4 speed, leaping ability, surprising physicality and vision make him this year’s best receiver after the catch and comparable to Carolina Panthers star Steve Smith.

“Tate should be drafted in the second half of the first round. Pete Carroll and John Schneider have shown a preference for bigger receivers, so I do not expect to see Tate (5-10, 199) in a Seattle uniform.”

Any names in the second group of receivers that Seahawks fans should keep an eye on?

“I’m a big fan of USC’s Damian Williams as a potential option for Seattle in the second round (though more when they still had the 40th pick). He’s a savvy route-runner who is faster on the field than his 4.55 showing at the Combine would indicate.

“His technique and agility translate well to Jeremy Bates’ scheme (and Williams obviously played for Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll during his college career, as well as Bates last year when he was USC’s offensive coordinator).

And the million-dollar question, knowing what you know of this draft and the challenge of identifying receiver talent, is it worth trading one of their first-round picks to obtain Marshall?

“I do believe surrendering either of Seattle’s current two first-round picks is too steep of a price to pay for Marshall. I can appreciate the “bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” philosophy that Marshall is a proven star, whereas rookies, regardless of how sure they appear to be, remain a gamble on potential.

Brandon Marshall

“I also believe that Marshall provides similar, immediate-impact potential as some of the other young, elite receivers in the NFL — Houston’s Andre Johnson, Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald and Detroit’s Calvin Johnson being among them. I would trade the sixth pick in the 2010 draft for any of those players.

“Those players, however, don’t have Marshall’s troubling off-field history.

“If I was running Seattle’s front office, I’d be playing it exactly as they appear to be doing now. The Broncos essentially put a “for sale” sign on Marshall’s chest by only giving him a first-round tender. There has been no confirmed interest by another teams in Marshall to this point.

“Rather than bid against myself, I’d offer this year’s second-round pick and a conditional middle-round pick in the 2011 draft based on playing time.”

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This is the sixth in our series of draft chats with Rang. If you missed the earlier posts, you can find them here: